Video: Stephen Colbert Was Visiting His Sick Mother During His Hiatus

Stephen Colbert returned to the small screen last night following an unexplained two-episode hiatus, and judging from his sweet aside to his mom during the show’s introductory monologue, it’s pretty clear that he was using his time off to visit her, as many suspected.

Colbert kicked off the show by discussing the various rumors about where he’d been, including Joan Rivers‘ only half-joking assertion that he was off getting plastic surgery on his eyes. “I did not have my eyes done, that’s ridiculous,” he said. “I had my ass done. The doctors cranked this thing so high and tight it can barely blink now.” But at the end of the monologue, he revealed the truth by adding a rare sincere aside clearly intended for his mother: “One more thing. Evidently, having 11 children makes you tough as nails. Confidential to a lovely lady.”

Aaw! Colbert plays his satirical Fox News character so well that sometimes it’s easy to forget there’s a real person under there. A real person with a mother, who believes the opposite of what he says on TV. And if you’re wondering whether his mom appreciates his brand of humor, she does! Here’s an interview with her from 2008: